It is a sad state of affairs if one of the key events in Ireland in the first quarter of the new millennium is to be an all-out bus strike in the State's capital. Once again, the customer is being held to ransom as a result of a strike by a public sector worker monopoly. If the strike is not resolved quickly, the economic cost will run to tens of millions of pounds, but the real cost will be in the lost reputation of the city and the State.

While the rights of any group of workers to pursue their aims through legitimate means must not be denied, I support the view of the Government that the resolution of the strike must take place only in the context of increased productivity and a restructuring of the internal operations of Dublin Bus.

However, the cause of the problems in Dublin Bus goes far beyond the current strike issue and is rooted in the lack of competition. The Road Transport Act of 1932 provides a cloak of protection around the Dublin Bus monopoly. I welcome the stated intent of the Government to remove that artificial and unnecessary layer of protection.

There are two key requirements, however, in relation to the proposed reform programme: the need to establish a framework for competition, and to set a timeframe within which such a framework can be introduced.

Increased competition in the telecoms and other sectors has worked. There is no reason why competition cannot deliver the same results for bus transport in the capital city. A free-for-all is not what is proposed. What is required is a system of competitive tendering for specific licences throughout the city.

To avoid cherry-picking of the most profitable routes, there are a number of options available. Tiedroute tendering, whereby licences would be granted only for services on profitable routes in tandem with services on other less profitable routes, is one such option. Zonal tendering, whereby licences are granted for particular areas, is another option.

The tendering process should be regulated by a public transport regulator along the same lines as the regulatory process now in operation in other key service industries.

By normal standards, changing the law to introduce competition could take two years or more. Dublin and the State cannot wait that long. The Government should now prioritise the reform of the 1932 Transport Act in the Dail and ensure its passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas before the summer.

Comprehensive preparatory work is needed before engaging in a tendering process. Specifically, an independent analysis of operational costs for all the routes will be required to enable the Government to lay down the basis for the tendering process. We should not wait until the law has been changed to carry out this important work.

But even if the Minister, Mary O'Rourke, fast-tracks the full deregulation of the market, it is unrealistic to expect invitations for bus-route tenders to be issued until well into next year at the earliest.

IN THE meantime, the Government must look at short-term measures to maximise the involvement of private competition in the market within the constraints of current legislation. A handful of licences have already been issued to private operators in the market, most notably the Aircoach service from Dublin Airport to the city. This licence was granted on the basis of the service being provided on a new route and at a premium level. There is scope for granting similar licences to other applicants.

However, while over 200 licence applications were made to the Department in 1999 for the provision of such privately run services, only two were granted. Rather than waiting for the complete review of the law, the Department of Public Enterprise should grant a number of licences to these applicants in the interim, so that at least some limited form of competition can be put in place.

This strike action totally undermines the already shaky confidence in public transport in Dublin. The commuter will truly believe in public transport only when the market provides choice, quality and reliability through competition.

David Manley is president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.